Tire Problems-Group-C race

BarkingSpyder 11 years ago

[quote]This post was extracted from an email from a member and has been reproduced here, along with the first two responses, for the benefit of the entire membership and other readers.[/quote]

When marshalling I noticed that alot of cars did a tip-over in the hairpin curve (.75 area). It also seemed that de-slots occured several inches past where they normally occur (such as after the first bend in the broad curve before the esses); almost like when using a magnet and interia finally breaks the magnet's hold.

It also seems that alot of people were having the same issue with tires:
-- the inner walls (next to the chassis) seemed to be peeling or layering (as if a manufacturing defect was making a seam come apart ... if the tires actually had seams lol).
-- Lots of marbling, even long after the tires had been cleaned with lighter fluid.

I stayed after the race (with Kyle) to get in some more practice with my Group-C and Group-5 cars. I noticed that both cars did the tip-over at both the hairpin and the climb out of the esses. I also noticed that in the esses, instead of a conventional de-slot (if there is such a thing), that my cars seemed to "hop" out of the slot - as if the car did a wheelie when I added power after braking (even if feathering).

I am wondering if the S/A tirecleaner residue is related to these issues.
Any ideas?

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Bellator Admin 11 years ago

This sounds more like track temperature vs tire compound to me... (With maybe a bit of gearing selection and weight balance thrown in for good measure)

BarkingSpyder OP 11 years ago

The issue is not compound or temp. Spring has finally come and for this race we are running F30s, and on Sat it was appx 75-Far. at the track. We are practicing for a regional 1/24 race in June at All Scale raceway. We will be running BRM 1/24 Group-Cs and ScaleAuto GTs - and the spec tires are sponge for both classes. For the tires a traction liquid is spec'ed - ScaleAuto Tire cleaner; without it the sponges wont hook up.

So Marty, Ary and a few others have been practicing at Kings with their ScaleAutos and the cleaner (applied to the tires). It leaves a light residue on the track that is dry to the touch, but has produced ever so slightly better traction for the Slot.It and NSR et al. rubber tires (we first noticed it runing 1/32s after the 1/24 tuning experiments on Thurs and 4/11).

Last weekend we had our first race after the first ScaleAuto experiments, and several people had the same issue with their tires. The inside treads seemed to be peeling (about 2mm from the inside wall) as if the tire was starting to separate at a molding line. Tires also seemed to be wearing more quickly and were leaving more marbles on the track and the cleaning tape.

We also had some weird handling problems. Overall the cornering traction was better, but at weird spots it seem to break (like a magnet) and cars did a lean-over (rather than a violent barrel role or de-slot) farther into the curve than they would normally de-slot.

Bellator Admin 11 years ago

Mark, it really is more than likely is compound and if not temperature, then track conditions. (Car balance may play a role as well) We have seen this sort of behavior from the tires and the cars before. And it always happens when the season changes. It all comes down to choosing the right compound and getting your setup (and driving style) right for that setup.

Autorama 11 years ago

Mark,

The Scaleauto cleaner added grip to the track, with the extra grip tires will wear quicker, more so if the car is being overdriven. What I did see on our last race were cars being over accelerated in turns. So, to answer your question: Yes, the cleaner is related to the tire wear issue but there were other circumstances which augmented the problem.
This is the first time in the club history that we have used any type of tire conditioner, unfortunately, without it, practicing for Waxahachie would be pointless - the foam tires simply did not offer any adherence. On my next track visits I will test other tire compounds, I'm certain we will find something more forgiving.

Ary.

Mitleid 11 years ago

just trying to get in the conversation

I think it is too early to be drawing a conclusion to why we are having issues. Lap counts were fairly similar to normal races. I am sure we will get it all figured out in the next few runs.

After some thinking most of the people that were having Issues were running the lightning series maybe we just got spoiled.